Walking a dog without a muzzle can result in a 1 million VND fine.

Starting September 15th, dog owners who fail to muzzle their dogs or allow their dogs to bite people while being taken out in public places will face heavy fines.

That is the main content of the amendments in Decree 90/2017/ND-CP issued by the Government regulating administrative penalties in the field of veterinary medicine, which came into effect on September 15th.

According to this regulation, the act of not muzzling a dog, not keeping it on a leash, or not having someone accompanying it when taking it to a public place will be subject to a fine of 600,000 to 800,000 VND.

In cases where pet owners fail to vaccinate their dogs and cats against rabies, they will also face a similar fine of 600,000 to 800,000 VND, as in the aforementioned offense.

In cases where a dog bites or scratches another person, the owner must provide material compensation to the injured party as stipulated by law.

For cases where people let their dogs roam freely in the city or public places, or allow their pets to cause damage to others, they will be fined from 100,000 to 1,000,000 VND. In cases where aggressive dogs attack and cause harm to the health or property of others, the dog owner will have to compensate depending on the extent of the damage.

Currently, in Ho Chi Minh City, there are approximately 110,000 households raising dogs, totaling over 220,000 dogs. However, only 12 out of 24 districts and counties have been recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as having established rabies-free zones. Meanwhile, rabies remains a danger to people, whether they live in urban or rural areas.

Hoang Tuyet/baotintuc